Speed: Man Who Filmed Himself Going 150mph Sentenced

A man who filmed himself going 150mph on his motorcycle and uploaded it to YouTube was sentenced yesterday after pleading guilty to four counts of dangerous driving. Robert Mark Owens, 48, of Milton Keynes was sentenced at Aylesbury Crown Court to a 51 week jail term, suspended for two years and disqualified from driving for five years. He will also have to complete 150 hours of community service and pass an extended driving test when his driving ban is over. Additionally, his £3,000 bike and £150 camera were confiscated.

Reckless

Footage online shows Owens driving dangerously on four separate occasions in April 2011 on his Kawasaki 600cc motorbike, reaching speeds of up to 150mph. In the footage he is seen not only to speed, but also to ride on footpaths, do wheelies and weave in and out of traffic dangerously. Police were tipped off to the video by an anonymous call and Owens was then arrested. A police motorcyclist based in Milton Keynes said the footage was “amongst the worst examples of dangerous driving I have seen during my time as a police officer”.

Thanks

During police questioning over the offences, Owens admitted to being an accident waiting to happen and thanked officers for arresting him, which he said probably saved his life. Police were quick to highlight to any would be criminals that social media providers support them in bringing criminals to justice and that anyone using social media for criminal means or to glorify their own criminal offenses would be brought to justice.

PC Steve Roebuck said: “He placed himself in positions which, despite any motorcycling skills he had, could easily have resulted in tragic consequences. It is a miracle he survived many of the situations he put himself in and to upload this footage onto a social networking site to boast about what he had done is abhorrent.”

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